The traditional construction of baby feeders has involved the provision of a bottle having a wide mouth to which an elastic nipple is attached by means of a threaded cap. When the entire nipple and cap combination is formed from the best materials, such as liquid silicone rubber, it becomes quite expensive. At the same time, the use of an elastic nipple that is separate from a semi-rigid bottle cap leads to a situation in which the baby sometimes pulls the nipple out of the cap. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a nipple or the like formed of a combination of expensive and inexpensive materials.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a nipple which can be attached to a baby bottle in such a way that it cannot be pulled free by the baby.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a method of manufacturing a hybrid baby bottle nipple with an orthodontic mouth portion.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a nipple or the like in which only a small portion is made of an expensive elastic material.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a method of making a nipple which is an integral combination of an elastomer mouth portion and a semi-rigid cap portion.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apprarent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.